Island is the anime adaption of the 2016 PC visual novel game with the same name. The series centres around self-proclaimed time traveler Setsuna Sanzenkai and the characters whom I presume are his three main love interests: Karen Kurutsu, Rinne Ohara, and Sara Garando. The town on the island Setsuna washes up on is called Urashima, and it’s surrounded by what looks like lots of forests and cliffs. Your typical island set-up, basically. There are lots of hints that the island’s residents can’t leave for some reason, but nothing is explained in detail yet of course.
I’ll take a closer look at the main cast starting with Setsuna. We don’t know much about Setsuna, aside from him supposedly being a time traveler and having lost his memory during his journey. He still gets glimpses of what I’m guessing is his future (past?), and he seems to recognize people or places he has strong associations with. Setsuna can also recall that there’s a girl on the island he has to save, and someone he has to kill. After he is found on the beach by Rinne, Setsuna becomes her rich family’s maid in order to have a roof over his head.
Karen Kurutsu looks like an average high schooler, and she’s got long, messy hair kept in a style similar to Sailor Moon’s (minus the buns). Her father is the town’s mayor but they don’t get along. Karen wants to get off the island badly, even resorting to hiding away on her family’s boat in the hopes that they will accidentally take her away from Urashima. She’s got a bratty tsundere-type personality that I think will get on my nerves. * sigh * She has a couple moments of close physical contact with Setsuna in this first episode, but is quick to retreat both times.
Rinne Ohara is also supposedly a time traveler; she washed up on Urashima’s beaches 5 years prior to Setsuna’s arrival. This was also the same time when “the island” appeared out at sea, but Urashima’s citizens don’t know anything about it. Rinne has some kind of medical condition where she will die if direct sunlight touches her skin so she can only go outside at night. Rinne is also a very talented singer, and a song she likes to sing seems to have some kind of special meaning for both herself and Setsuna. Rinne lives with a woman whom she calls her mother, but I wonder if there is a blood connection (aside from a tentative physical resemblance).
Lastly is Sara Garando, and she’s Urashima’s shrine priestess. She is appears to be well educated and knowledgeable about time travel. Sara takes Setsuna to her shrine to ask him about his time traveling and attempts to kill him with a small blade. However the attempt fails when she slips on some paper and falls flat on her face. Sara theorizes that Setsuna and Rinne had their memories sealed when they traveled through time, but can’t prove who might have done such a thing. Sara often says things without first considering whether or not she should say them out loud.
Right off the bat it’s clear that, given this series is based off a visual novel, there’s going to be a fair amount of fanservice. Ok, I can deal with that.
I’m not completely sold on this series yet, but there are enough mysteries and questions introduced that I’m very intrigued. Why does Setsuna have to die? Why can’t Urashima’s residents leave the island? What is the mysterious island which appeared out at sea 5 years ago, and what is its ties to Rinne if any? I must know more!
Possibility of Watching: High
Possibility of Blogging: High
Apparently the source VN for Island has gotten an official English translation.
The translated game is due for a 2018 release to coincide with the anime, but so far there’s no official set date for that release.
There’s a possibility the game might only come out after the anime airs, to prevent a wider deluge of spoilers/comparisons.
(Of course, spoilers will definitely come from those who played in Japanese…)